Ellicottville, N.Y. (WBEN) - If you're heading for the Southern Tier this weekend in Western New York, Ellicottville is hosting its annual Fall Festival celebration on Saturday and Sunday.
Ellicottville Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, Brian McFadden, anticipates another huge weekend for the village during this year's Fall Fest.
"Our vendors are all sold out, our hotels are all sold out, lots of reservations. The Bills game on Sunday puts the icing on the cake. It's gonna be a great weekend," said McFadden in an interview with WBEN.
While this fall season has gotten off to an unseasonably, but not unwelcomed warm start, a cold front sweeping through Western New York over the weekend will drop temperatures quite drastically, while also bringing the rain back into the forecast.
According to the National Weather Service, Ellicottville is slated to barely crack the 50-degree mark on Saturday, while only reaching a high of 47 degrees on Sunday. In addition, both days will see more than an 80% chance of rain showers throughout the day.
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While the weekend's forecast may deter some from taking in festivities in Ellicottville, McFadden believes it won't damper spirits for those who make the trek to Cattaraugus County.
"People have booked their rooms and they're coming anyway. And a little colder weather brings people into the shops too, and in the ski shops they're thinking about skiing. So merchants often just kind of pray for a little bit of bad weather, or a little bit of cold weather, at least, to help their sales besides the vendors," McFadden said.
Even with the change in weather and potential for inclement weather all weekend, McFadden says plans won't change all too much.
"We've got lots of tents out there, lots of property here. It may take 10% off the top, but you know how busy it is here anyway. It just allows people more space to walk around," he said.
When it comes to handling traffic through the village of Ellicottville this upcoming weekend, McFadden says the work has been put in with local law enforcement agencies and the Department of Transportation to put a detour around the entire village.
"It's very easy to follow, flag men at every corner. Even getting off of the four-lane 219 onto the two-lane 219, it's continuous traffic now. They've changed the routing there, so it should be good," McFadden explained. "It'll always be a little slow, no question about that, but it won't be like it was in the old days when you had two or three hours from Buffalo."
So what may be some of the highlight events set to take place this weekend? McFadden admits there's lots going on that festivalgoers are not going to want to miss.
"Up at Holiday Valley, they've got their new six-pack chairlift opening this weekend. You can ride to the top, where they've got bands, music and food. HoliMont has chairlift rides as well, and HoliMont has a new bike park. Very, very amazing bike park, so that's all open," McFadden said. "Our arts and crafts show, our food court, and so on. So probably, at least, 22 live bands in town this weekend. So there's really lots to do day and night."